Archives

WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, March 5, 2014

  • Welcome - why are you here?
  • Types of ukuleles (and pronunciation)
      *  Styles of music that can be played
  • The anatomy of a ukulele and strings (1st is at the bottom; 4th is at the top)
  • Tuning - g C E A (“g” means a high g note, whereas “G” means a lower sounding G-string) and that leads us to “Where do you find the Aegean Sea? On the first, fourth, and third strings.”
  • Holding your ukulele
  • Strumming - how and where
  • Holding down a string
  • Chord diagrams

      *  C and F chords and Li’l Liza Jane
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NOW WHAT?
Wendnesday, March 19, 2014

  • Review of WHAT NOW from March 5
  • Review of C and F chord diagrams
  • Strumming patter for "Li'l Liza Jane"
  • "Li'l Liza Jane" effort
  • How many damn chords do we need to learn?! (ukulele tricks.com and poster versions)
  • Chord progressions.  Easy you say?!
  • Tackling G7 and E7 chord diagrams
  • Another strumming pattern
  • "I'll Fly Away" for next time
  • When are we going to learn a song I want to learn?!
  • Ode to Joy
  • "Aloha 'Oe" - two versions (at least)

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WHAT NOW?
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

  • So what’s in a name - Urban Ukuleles - and what’s this about Wordpress.com as our website?
  • Warming-up exercises:
  • stretches
  • chord exercises

       * Review of our most recent gathering on March 19:
  • C and F for “Li’l Liza Jane” 
  • G7 and E7 for “I’ll Fly Away”
  • Let’s give “I’ll Fly Away” a try together
  • “Aloha ‘Oe” - we know the three chords already (okay, a fourth chord - C7 - is just one time on one string with one finger on the first fret):
  • C, F, G7 (and one time the C7)
  • a simple strum with the first three chords we learned
  • Am, Dm, and E7 chords - We’ll be 3/4ths of the way to our 12 most commonly used chords!
  • “Wayfaring Stranger” as our next song for April 16
      *  Next Steps?  How’re we doing?

       * “Aloha ‘Oe” as our parting song at 8:00.

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WHAT NOW?
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
  • Welcome
  • New gathering schedule: the first and third Tuesdays(?) of each month or what?
  • Use of the metronome 
      *  Ukulele straps

       *  Nailing “Li’l Liza Jane”
  • Nailing “I’ll Fly Away”
  • Nailing “Wayfaring Stranger”
  • Nailing “Aloha ‘Oe” at the conclusion of our gathering
  • Popcorn for the documentary “Mighty Uke, The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog”
        *  Viewing the documentary “Mighty Uke, The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog”

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What Now?
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
  • Welcome with a potential pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.
  • My continuing plug for: 
  • Ukulele for Dummies by Alistair Wood - This book has been our guide so far.  It’s in both a hardcopy version and an e-Book version.  The e-Book version is easier to work with because audios and videos are embedded in the text, but the hardcopy version makes it easier to photocopy a song and set it aside.  You really should get this book.  It will be our constant guide.
  • Ukulele Strumming Tricks by Brett McQueen - We’ve been using some of Brett’s tips already, and we’ll be using more of them in the future.  Brett is very available by email for questions.  I am a “member”, so we have that option already.  Nonetheless, this is a great book available on-line that you can use as a companion to Ukulele for Dummies.
  • The Daily Ukulele compiled and arranged by Liz and Jim Beloff, they of the documentary “Mighty Uke” fame.  365 songs, traditional as well as contemporary.  Excellent resource.
  • Quick review of where we’ve been and then a discussion of where we might be going, including how to use the new Urban Ukuleles website.
  • “Drumming Up More Strumming Patterns” - Chapter 5 of Ukulele for Dummies; pages 65 through 77.

  • Practicing the “Swiss Army Strum”, which fits so many songs well.
  • The A and D chords.
  • Now let’s watch the PBS documentary “Jake Shimabukuro, Life on Four Strings” for only 54 minutes, Jake being the Yo Yo Ma of the ukulele.
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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, May 14, 2014

  • Welcome with a potential pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together” (sent via email).
  • My continuing plug for: 
    • Ukulele for Dummies by Alistair Wood
    • Ukulele Strumming Tricks by Brett McQueen 
    • The Daily Ukulele compiled and arranged by Liz and Jim Beloff, they of the documentary “Mighty Uke” fame.  365 songs, traditional as well as contemporary.  Excellent resource.
  •  Warm-up exercises.  These are those series of exercises I handed out a few gatherings ago.
  •  Chord exercises.  These are those series of chords charts I handed out a few gatherings ago.
  • “Drumming Up More Strumming Patterns” - Chapter 5 of Ukulele for Dummies, pages 65 through 77.
    •  the “Swiss Army Strum” (pages 65 and 66 of Ukulele for Dummies and henceforth to be referred to by me as “UD”) 
    •  the A and D chords (page 67 of UD,  see also chord diagrams sent via email and which show at least 3 ways to play the D chord)
    •  an effort to play “Shady Grove” (page 68 of UD)
    •  strumming variations (pages 69-73 of UD)
    •  an effort to play “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (sent via email and my effort to get chord diagrams and song on one page)
*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.

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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele
  • My continuing plug for: 
    • Ukulele for Dummies by Alistair Wood; but now, especially, consider subscribing to . . . 
    • . . . Ukulele Strumming Tricks by Brett McQueen ; and
    • The Daily Ukulele compiled and arranged by Liz and Jim Beloff, they of the documentary “Mighty Uke” fame.  365 songs, traditional as well as contemporary.  Excellent resource. 

  •  “Amazing Grace” from The Daily Ukulele, page 21
  • Ukulele Strumming Tricks Lessons 5, 6, and 7 [if we have time for all]
  • Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.

NOTE:  I have a documentary about Brother IZ.  Depending on the mood of UU’ers, we may watch it now or later.

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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, June 11, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.

  • My continuing plug for: 
  • Ukulele Strumming Tricks by Brett McQueen.  Not only are Brett’s Worksheets valuable, but so are the Comments section which follow the lessons.
  • The Daily Ukulele compiled and arranged by Liz and Jim Beloff, they of the documentary “Mighty Uke” fame.  365 songs, traditional as well as contemporary.  Excellent resource for songs to play.
  • Ukulele for Dummies by Alistair Wood.  We’ll be coming back to this book, but you still may want to keep working on things in that excellent book.  I know I am.

* Some songs to practice and play:
  • “Amazing Grace” from The Daily Ukulele (a/k/a “TDU”, page 21
  • “I’ll Fly Away” from Ukulele for Dummies (a/k/a “UD”)
  • “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from UD
  • “Save The Last Dance For Me”, TDU, page 202
  • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, hand-out from Eleanor

*  Ukulele Strumming Tricks  Lessons 9 (includes “Take Me Home Country Roads”)

*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.

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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, June 25, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.
  • My continuing plug for: 
  • Ukulele Strumming Tricks by Brett McQueen.  Not only are Brett’s Worksheets valuable, but so are the Comments section which follow the lessons.
  • The Daily Ukulele compiled and arranged by Liz and Jim Beloff, they of the documentary “Mighty Uke” fame.  365 songs, traditional as well as contemporary.  Excellent resource for songs to play.
  • Ukulele for Dummies by Alistair Wood.  We’ll be coming back to this book, but you still may want to keep working on things in that excellent book.  I know I am.

 * Ukulele Strumming Tricks  Lesson 10 (includes “Puff the Magic      Dragon”)

* Some songs to practice and play:
  • “Amazing Grace” from The Daily Ukulele (a/k/a “TDU”, page 21
  • “I’ll Fly Away” from Ukulele for Dummies (a/k/a “UD”, page 57)
  • “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from page 74 of UD
  • “Save The Last Dance For Me”, TDU, page 202
  • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, hand-out from Eleanor


*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.

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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, July 9, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.
  •  Planning for the first Annual UU UkeFest and BBQ.
  •  Lesson 11 from Ukulele Strumming Tricks - We learn two new chords that may be challenging, the Bb and the F7, to play “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”
*  Let’s practice and then play a fun song of our choice!
* Our songs to practice and play:
  • “Amazing Grace” from The Daily Ukulele (a/k/a “TDU”, page 21
  • “I’ll Fly Away” from Ukulele for Dummies (a/k/a “UD”, page 57)
  • “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from page 74 of UD
  • “Save The Last Dance For Me”, TDU, page 202
  • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, hand-out from Eleanor
*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.


Supplement
to
WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, July 9, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.

  • Planning for the first Annual UU UkeFest and BBQ to be held on July 16.

*Are we a kanikapila-style gathering (a gathering of friends to play songs), a learning time, a rehearsal time, a bit of each, more of one than another?  And what does all that mean for us?

*  If we’re more of a gathering to play songs, is there still learning time?  If so, what teaching resources can we tap into?
*  Ukulele Strumming Tricks, Brett McQueen
*  Ukulele for Dummies, Alistair Wood
*  Ukuleleunderground.com lessons, Alistair Wood
*  The Complete Ukulele Method, Daniel Ho
*  The Ukulele Way, James Hill
*  Various on-line resources 
*  Ukulele Magazine

*  For those of us who want to rehearse songs for gigs, when do they rehearse?

*  If we’re going to gather to play songs, how are songs chosen and is there a new song for each gathering? (see Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz Song Books).  See “Eensy Weensy Spider” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.  Play now?




  • Uke2Heal - Anyone interested in joining the movement?

  • Lesson 11 from Ukulele Strumming Tricks - We learn two new chords that may be challenging, the Bb and the F7, to play “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”

*  Let’s practice and then play a fun song of our choice!

* Our songs to practice and play:
  • “Amazing Grace” from The Daily Ukulele (a/k/a “TDU”, page 21
  • “I’ll Fly Away” from Ukulele for Dummies (a/k/a “UD”, page 57)
  • “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from page 74 of UD
  • “Save The Last Dance For Me”, TDU, page 202
  • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, hand-out from Eleanor

*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.


Note:  At the conclusion of our gathering at 8:00, those who wish to can join me in watching “The Ukes in America, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in the United States of America”, a 66-minute documentary that is described as: “The Ukes in America” follows them on their first coast-to-coast tour of the United States. America was their major musical inspiration, but what will Americans make of their British humor and ukulele musicianship?”

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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, July 23, 2014

  • Welcome with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.
  • Review of the consensus reached at our last gathering:
         Three themes - playing songs, learning how to play our ukuleles, and rehearsals

         1. The most important part is we’re a group of supportive friends who gather to play ukuleles

         2.  Each gathering will feature a new song to play.  

        3.  We’ll learn a bit more each time about how to play our ukuleles.

        4.  We’ll use Ukulele for Dummies as our learning guide, supplemented by other materials in the UU Library of Learning Materials.

        5.  Rehearsal for songs to be played at gigs - hospitals, “old folks” facilities, Exchange Street, etc. - will take place after 8:00 PM.

* A plug for the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz and its three song books.  When we make suggestions for our next gathering song, having copies of your own will make it easier for you to make those suggestions.

*  So, . . . . any suggestions for our next song?

*  Tonight’s song is Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”

* Ukulele for Dummies pages 75 - 77  Learning about songs in 3/4 time, a classic strum for that, and “House of the Rising Sun” (several chord changes for that classic song, so practicing ahead of time will help); and then maybe all about chnking (yes, no “u”)

*  Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.

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Our songs to practice and play:

  • “Amazing Grace” 
  • “I’ll Fly Away” 
  • “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” 
  • “Save The Last Dance For Me”
  • “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
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WHAT NOW?
Wednesday, August 27, 2014

  • A big “Welcome Back” with our pep song, “Let’s All Play the Ukulele” ( . . . let’s all play it daily, . . .”), sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”.  See page 148 of The Daily Ukulele.
  • So what’s been happening in the meantime since we gathered together last on July 23?
    • We’ve got some potential gigs!
    • Flash mob?
    • What else?
  • Ukulele for Dummies pages 78 - 80.  More strumming patterns - the shuffle strum and a reggae strum, ya mun.  Let’s try our hand(s) at the “Banana Boat Song”.
  • Closing with our traditional “Aloha ‘Oe”.
  • Post-Closing - The Ukes in America, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in the United States of America, a DVD

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